Inspiration

Benno’s Norway Journal

My dear friend, Benno is a retired architect living in Portland, Oregon. For years, he’s filled countless numbers of our books with his world travels. Every few years, Benno loans us one of his completed journals to display at our shows – as each one is a masterpiece!

If you’re inspired, but fear you don’t have the skills, I suggest taking one of his watercolor courses that he teaches in Italy. Contact us for more information or visit laromita.org.

Mikey’s African Safari Journal

Years ago, I met my friend Mikey at the Armadillo Christmas Bizarre. She bought one of my journals and took off to Africa with her husband on a safari. A year or so later, she showed me this amazing book she had put together about her trip. Since then, Mikey’s incredible book has inspired so many others who are scared to put paint and colored pencil to paper.

She drew a lot of inspiration from a variety of books including The Decorated Page by Gwen Diehn, The Creative License by Danny Gregory, and How to Draw Animals by Jack Hamm. Any of these books would make a great companion gift along with any of our journals.

Pomona’s Book

Many years ago, I met my friend Pomona at the Laguna Gloria Arts Festival in Austin. She had a challenging request to make our smallest book, but with 300 pages. Once it was created, she filled it from end to end up with 300 little, colorful watercolor paintings.

If you’d like to learn directly from here, she’s a watercolor and journaling teacher at Laguna Gloria during the winter and early spring. In the summer, she heads to the cooler climate of Abiquiu, New Mexico to teach at Ghost Ranch. Check out her classes at either of these locations.